


Words aren't needed to tell you I love you.

by Hecate_Trivia



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur is jealous and protective af, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, M/M, Magic Revealed, Major Character Injury, Merlin doesn't recover, but in a healthy way
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:13:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29758764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hecate_Trivia/pseuds/Hecate_Trivia
Summary: After a bandit attack, Merlin is left permanently mute.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 110





	1. The loss.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! I haven't posted a Merlin/Arthur fic in a long time! Please bear with me when I post- I am awful with deadlines but I have been itching to post this one. I hope everyone is coping well and please enjoy!
> 
> TW- blood and heavy injury but no main characters die.

It happened just as they were coming back from a successful patrol- obvious relief amongst everyone that nothing bad had happened- they were ambushed. 

The knights would’ve taken care of everything as the group of bandits wasn’t  _ that  _ big but then one bandit managed to catch Merlin off guard, who had been making sure that Arthur or no one else to be caught off guard. The bastard didn’t even hesitate to slide a dagger over his throat. 

Merlin swayed and his eyes went wide as his hands shot up to his neck. Blood began spurting from between his fingers and lips and he started to choke and cry. Arthur  _ screamed.  _ The bandit that had done this to Merlin was already moving on, letting Merlin drop to the ground like a sack of potatoes but one of the knights ran after him. It was Leon, who didn’t hesitate to  _ brutally  _ take care of him. Arthur would’ve done the same but he was sprinting towards Merlin. 

“Merlin, Merlin,” he chanted his name, dropping to his knees and cradling him on top of his thighs. Merlin was convulsing lightly and trying to speak, but blood was stopping from saying anything clearly. “Merlin don’t leave me please.” He pressed his hand against the wound and was horrified to see the amount of blood. 

“Arthur,” Merlin spluttered out. One hand reached out to cup Arthur’s cheek. It was sticky with the blood but Arthur still leaned into it, desperate for that hand to stay on his cheek.

It felt and sounded far too much like a goodbye. Arthur wished he could turn back time. He would do  _ anything  _ and  _ everything  _ to do so.

“Arthur,” Merlin managed one more time and there was no panic in his eyes any longer. It was like he was smiling at Arthur and then his eyes shut, the rest of his body slumping.

Arthur  _ wailed.  _

\---

Merlin didn’t expect to wake up. Quite frankly he was deeply surprised as he had thought he had said his goodbyes to the physical world. Not that he was complaining, he could go back to protecting Arthur. 

His throat hurt like a bitch though and his eyes widened as the memories came back. The bandit, Arthur running to him… Wow, he really was lucky. 

He sat up and looked around. He saw a glass of water and his mouth would’ve watered at the sight alone except that it was drier than parchment. He gripped it and drained it within seconds, despite the pain it caused him. He looked through his window and saw that it was dark. Despite that, he needed to see if Arthur was alright. 

He swung his legs from out of the bed and made his way out of the room. Gaius was sleeping and snoring loudly in his bed and Merlin pulled the blanket over him.

He made his way to Arthur, nodding at the guards along his way. His hand reached to his neck where it was heavily bandaged and moved it around. It was rather itchy and uncomfortable. 

The guards let him through and he smiled at them gratefully. He didn’t knock, knowing that Arthur would be asleep. 

Arthur was asleep on top of the sheets, which was quite odd. He was fully clothed too and it looked like he had just fallen into bed. There was stubbled on his face and there were dark circles under his eyes. Arthur looked… terrible. Merlin wondered what the hell happened during the time he was unconscious. 

He was going to let himself out, wanting Arthur to get some clearly much-needed sleep when he accidentally stumbled into the table and an empty goblet fell to the floor. 

Arthur shot out of bed and reached for his sword but then he saw who it was. Relief flooded his features- the one that made someone’s body slump and a smile forming on its own. 

“Merlin, you’re up. You’re alive!” Arthur launched himself at Merlin and hugged him so hard that he pushed the air out of his lungs. But Merlin couldn’t help but smile and hug Arthur back, tucking his head into Arthur’s shoulder. 

“How are you feeling?” Arthur asked, pulling back but not quite letting go of Merlin. There was something in his eyes that Merlin couldn’t quite catch. 

He opened his mouth and began speaking and- and nothing came out. Just huffs of breath and little chokes. He tried to cough but that just hurt and his eyes grew wide in alarm. 

“Oh god,” Arthur whispered out, knowing what must have happened. Merlin tried to say something again and again and when no words came out his face just crumpled and he began crying. His cries turned into silent sobs when he realized that even then little sound came out, his body shuddered even more. 

“Shh, shh,” Arthur pulled him back in and he rocked himself and Merlin, trying to soothe the man. Merlin gripped his jacket and sobbed, his shoulders shaking and chest heaving. Arthur threaded his hands through Merlin’s hair, trying to soothe him. 

“It’s going to be okay, it’s going to be okay,” Arthur whispered. He knew it wouldn’t be. At least not until they had it figured out and he had no idea where they would even start. 

Merlin cried for a long time. Long enough for Arthur to pull him into the bed and protectively curl around him and cocoon him in the sheets. Eventually, Merlin fell into an exhausted sleep and Arthur knew he probably should’ve brought the man back to Gaius but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. He needed to feel the pulse of Merlin’s heart, the warmth of his body, each intake of breath into his lungs. He  _ needed  _ to make sure that Merlin was  _ alive.  _

That’s how Merlin woke up. Encircled in Arthur’s arms and the man’s blankets. And in Arthur’s bed. And in Arthur’s blankets and duvet and in Arthur’s room. He couldn’t see Arthur’s face but he could tell that the prince was still asleep. His breathing was steady and deep but despite being asleep his arms were still tight around Merlin. 

Merlin felt… safe and warm and comfortable. He still felt tugs of sadness at the prospect of losing his voice but with Arthur around him, it didn’t matter so much anymore. He burrowed further into Arthur, holding onto one of his arms and let himself fall into a light doze, where he was still aware of the warmth. 


	2. Back to talking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone! I hope all of you are doing good! I really couldn't wait to post this chapter! Please enjoy xxx

Arthur couldn’t quite believe it when Gaius shook his head slightly and told them that Merlin wouldn’t regain his voice back. That his vocal cords wouldn’t knit back together and that Merlin would never be able to speak. 

“No, no. Gaius, there must be something-” Arthur said desperately, panic rising in him- the feeling of Merlin’s body being racked by sobs still fresh in his mind from last night. 

He felt Merlin’s slightly shaking hand atop his own and he turned to him, expecting a distraught look on the other man’s face. Instinctively, he turns his hand around and grips Merlin's hand back. Instead of despair, there was a small and sad smile on his face as he shook his head. 

“Merlin-” Merlin shrugged and then looked around for something to write. Gaius passed him a quill and parchment and for a few moments, they waited as Merlin wrote. 

‘ _ It is what it is. I guess I’ll just have to find some other way to annoy you.’  _ Arthur snorted and shook his head fondly and from the corner of his eyes, he could see Gaius giving Merlin a fond, fatherly look. 

“He still needs to rest,” Gaius said, making Merlin pout unhappily, “I’m sure he will be here at the end of the day though.” Arthur took that as his cue to leave and for a moment he felt a bit awkward when he didn’t move- it made him painfully aware of the hand that he was still holding and how his thumb was running circles on the smooth skin. 

He looked at Merlin who smiled at him and with a heavy heart, he lets go. He received another smile that gave Arthur the impression that Merlin was handling this better than he was- he would never admit to it though. 

“Right. Better behave Merlin!” He said, with an awkward smile and left the room. Yet, it seemed that his thoughts stayed with Merlin...

All through the training of squires, he couldn’t get Merlin out of his head. Of course, he couldn’t! It’s Merlin for crying out loud! But he couldn’t stop thinking about how they woke up- how Merlin’s breath softly tickled his neck where his head was tucked in, how  _ right  _ it felt and how he wanted that every morning. 

He swallows thickly and at least tries to concentrate on the training and not on the fact that he may or may not be harbouring some very serious feeling for Merlin. 

\---

“How’s Merlin?” Morgana asked at dinner that day, making Arthur almost jump out of his seat. He nearly flushed a bright red- he had been just thinking about Merlin (complete lie- he was  _ still  _ thinking about Merlin) when Morgana asked the question and for a split second, he thought she could guess. Instead, he schooled his expression and told his heart to stop hammering in his chest. 

“He’s up and nearly back to his old way. His voice is gone though.” No one in the room seemed to bat an eye, which made Arthur scowl, anger rising in him. 

“Well, it’s no wonder, with a cut like that. But in no time he will be talking our ears off-'' Morgana said and it hit Arthur that everyone thought that Merlin would be fine. That his voice was only  _ temporarily _ lost. He hastily corrected them. 

“No, he won’t be,” he said, almost too sharply. He shook his head and this even got Uther’s and the rest of the council men’s attention, who were dining with them. 

“What do you mean no?” Uther asked, cocking his head. He was very much aware of the castle’s whole fondness of the boy with his bright persona and charisma. In fact, the whole castle had been far more down and quieter when they found out what had happened to the boy. 

“I mean his voice is gone forever.” Morgana, Gwen and several of the others in the room took sharp breaths in. He could see Gwen's mouth covering her mouth with a shaking hand and Morgana’s eyes shining just a little bit more than they usually did. 

“You mean he’s mute now?” Uther asks finally, breaking the stunned silence that had followed his words. Arthur nodded. He looked down at his plate of food and found his appetite gone. It was still hard to believe that he would never hear Merlin’s voice again. It’s been one day and he’s already missing it so much that he feels he can’t take a proper breath in. 

“How will he communicate?” Morgana asks. She’s blinking faster than usual to cover the fact that she was close to tears. Arthur shrugged sadly. 

“He’s written…But that’s it.”

“Maybe sign language,” Geoffrey suggested and with amazement and shock, Arthur began listening to the man and some of the others talk about mute and deaf people and how ‘the boy’, as they called Merlin, could use it. For the first time in a long time, he spent a council dinner where no one argued and everyone worked for the same goal. 

Later that day he walked in with arms laden full of books from Geoffrey about sign language. The man had made him promise that the books would be put to immediate use and that they  _ would  _ return to him in the same condition… or else. He flicked through them and saw complicated gestures that would help Merlin communicate with them without parchment and ink. A flutter of hope awoke in him- maybe he and Merlin would still be able to talk.

The man smiled at him when he came in and it made Arthur feel a bit hotter than usual. Arthur hoped that he wouldn’t see the blush on his face. Gaius wasn’t around which made him feel less awkward when he set the books down on the table and sat beside Merlin to explain what they were for. 

Merlin’s eyes were shining by the time he finished and he had to look away or else he would melt under their gaze. Expect that then he didn’t notice Merlin moving forward and trapping him in a hug. After the night before, Arthur let himself indulge and hugged him back. 

A few hours later Gaius came back from the rounds and found the two men surrounded by opened books and loose pieces of parchment, with their own notes and cheat sheets upon them. Arthur was making a gasping, laughing noise as Merlin looked at him smugly. 

“Did  _ you  _ just call me a clot pole?! I’m the fucking prince!” Merlin laughed soundlessly and made some movements with his hands. Gaius watched in amazement as Arthur raptly watched him and then his eyes widened. 

“A  _ prat?!”  _ Gaius quickly realised what they were doing.  _ Sign language.  _ Arthur must’ve heard about it and he was learning it with Merlin. He watched the two interact for just a moment longer before stepping back and quietly closing the door. He could pay a visit to some friends whilst those two… bickered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed that! Feel free to leave me some constructive criticism. Right, gotta go. I'm in my lesson... Hugs and kisses, Hecate_Trivia xoxoxo


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! I hope everyone is holding up well! Please enjoy!

On top of sign language, the pair seemed to come up with their own language. Looks that spoke sentences, body movements that explained the situation, tapping that make them both snicker and giggle. It was quite amazing to watch really. 

If before they were inseparable before the incident, now they were more so. No one could communicate with Merlin as well as Arthur did. Sometimes Morgana even thought that no one could communicate with  _ Arthur  _ as well as Merlin. Morgana keyed it down to Arthur realising how easily he could’ve lost Merlin. She guessed it really would be an eye-opener. 

Morgana curiously watched as Arthur’s hand flew through the air, gesturing wildly at Merlin. Merlin’s eyebrows flew up and he gestured something back. Arthur nodded and they shared a knowing look. 

“What are you two gossiping about?” Morgana asked, smirking. Merlin looked from Morgana to Arthur with an expecting look. Arthur rolled his eyes. 

“I just saw Gwyneth and Kai leaving the castle together. With a picnic basket in hand.” 

“Ugh- finally.  _ About _ time.” It’s true- the pair have been dancing around one another for an awfully long time. 

“Exactly what Merlin said.” Beside him, Merlin nodded happily. 

“I’m assuming that you’re asking Merlin for one too?” She smirked as she watched Arthur splutter and Merlin turn a soft red and look away shyly. Morgana knows what had happened yesterday, or at least  _ part  _ of it she smirked to herself, but they don’t know that… Nor will they find out for a long time if she has her way… 

“I’ll leave you two be,” she said with a wink at Merlin and then left. She obviously didn’t hear anything, Arthur mostly talking to Merlin via hand gestures but she left with a smirk on her face anyway. She did hope that this would be enough to prod them in the right direction. 

The next day, however, when she and Gwen were walking through the lower town, she saw Arthur at a stall of fabrics. She and Gwen looked at one another and crept further, making sure Arthur wouldn’t notice them. As they neared they saw Merlin appearing next to him since Arthur had waved him over. 

Arthur lifted a piece of cloth up to Merlin’s neck as if looking as if the colour suited him. The dark red did in fact suit him. Merlin gave him a look but there was a little smile playing on his lips. His cheeks turned a soft pink and he gently shook his head and placed his hand atop Arthur’s and pushed it down. 

When Merlin turned away though, Arthur flicked the Merchant the coin and took the piece of cloth with him. 

“About time too,” Gwen and Morgana said at the same time and then giggled at one another. 

\---

The trek back from their picnic is slow and made in silence but it is none the less pleasurable. Arthur chooses not to think that as soon as they step back into the lower town and continue walking to the castle that they will have to go back to their roles of servant and prince. It makes his skin itch uncomfortably. 

He wishes he could grab Merlin’s hand and just- walk with him and be with him but he knows it impossible, which nearly makes him scowl. 

Merlin nudges him out of whirling thoughts and he smiles at him. 

“I was just thinking of giving you the day off but then again, who would muck out the stables?” Arthur chooses to joke instead- his throat would clog up if he would start telling Merlin what he was really thinking. Merlin makes a mock angry face and then pushes Arthur slightly. There’s barely any strength behind it and it makes Arthur laugh loudly before he too pushes Merlin back. An eye for an eye right?

Merlin makes a quiet laughing huff and pushes him again, harder and Arthur nearly growls and Merlin takes that as his cue to start running back to the castle, Arthur hot on his heels. 

Later that night, when Arthur is staring at his bed’s canopy and thinking of Merlin’s lips on his, he thinks that really, they are already mostly equal. He smiles slightly at the day they can  _ really  _ be equals and then turns to plaster himself to Merlin’s side and to fall asleep, comfortable and content. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter- I know it's short but I just had no clue what to write and I liked how it came out.   
> I am t a bit of a crossroad with this fic- I can either loosely follow the plot i.e pick out certain episodes and show how Merlin's muteness and their relationship changes it or I can go off the rails? What do you guys think I should do? Maybe merge both?  
> Anywho, thank you for reading. Hugs and kisses, Hecate_Trivia xoxoxo.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave me so constructive criticism! I hope everyone enjoyed it! Hugs and Kisses, Hecate_Trivia xoxoxo


End file.
